Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1887-12-07

payer" n challenge him 10 dlSprOTe IL,
that a graded free school on the plan sub
mitted by the committee will not cost the
town any more than we are paying unde
our present plan. Now may be "Tax-pay-
er" is not ready to admit that. The proof
is at hand. Look at the figures. With
the 306 children of the town in the schools
fund 5000. Then if we %inaugurate a free
public school we will probably get $500
from the Peabody fund. The free graded
schools in our ne%ighboring towns get this
amount and there is no reason why we
cannot. This gives us 81 200 to begin with.
On our present plan we are only getting
$500 of public money. Here we are losing
500 a year by sticking to our present
system.
Now the estimate made by the commit
tee for the cost of the school is $2,450 per
annum. Deduct the 81 200 received from
the public school fund and the Pea
body fund, and there is only 81 ,25O left to
be raised. Now we are actually paying
out every year, to the half a score of pri-
vate schools in town, more than 81 ,25O, and
not over half the children of the town are
in school: They are growing up in igno-
rance. Yet it is costing us as much to
educate n half of our children by our
present plan, as it would cost to educate
every child in town by the efficient plan
OF a graded school,
Now what is the business sense of stick
ing to a plan that every one admits to be a
failure-a plan that is letting half our chill
dren grow up in ignorance, when we can
have another plan by which we can edu-
cate every child in town, rich or poor,
young and old, for the same cost of money,
and, every one admits, more thoroughly?
Now this is an argument that appeals to
every mans Common sense. If / can
adopt a plan by which I can educate my
own children and then help my poorer
neighbor to educate his, and without any
more cost, would it not be foolish, would
it not be criminal in me to be so selfish as
to refuse to do it?
Now this plan of a free graded school
ten months in the year is no doubtful or
risky enterprise. I think almost every
town in the State of any size, and certain
ly every n with any public spirit, has
the graded free system. The test of the
utility Of a thing is the actual trial, and 1
never heard of a town going back on this
system when once fairly tried.
The largest taxpayers in our sister towns
are favoring and supporting this graded
school system, and on exactly the same
uoolo do eHal PlopooSu w Jul
I will name a few of them: such as Col.
J. H. Rion and G. H. McMaster, of WINS
boro. In Chester, such men as Captain
Agurs, Joseph Wylie and James Hemp
hill and you know, Mr.. Editor, what our
err terprising and public-spirited neighbor,
Rock Hill is doing in this line.
Now Taxpayer" says (and he seems to
smack his lips over it) that ''the business
men" of Yorkville are opposed to this free
school sytem. I want to ask him if the
business men of Winnsboro, Chester and
Rock Hill are not as shrewd and far-seeing
and as capable of Judging what would be
a good thing for a town as ''the business
men" of Yorkville? The verdict of en-
lightened Christendom is, that the free
public school is the best system ever de-
vised and taxpayer says 1.-the bust
ness men, of Yorkville are against it.
Now is not that pretty rough on the "busi-
ness men, of Yorkville ?-the business
men on Taxpayers" side.
In all seriousness, Mr.. Editor, when will
some of our people get a little more public
spirit in their breasts, and a little larger
view of matters pertaining to our welfare
as a town?
I read once ofan old man who had some
company staying with him, and he
thought they were staying a little too long
and costing a little too much. So one day
he prayed at the table in this wise 20,
Lord, bless me and my wife, my son John
and his wife; us four and no more" l
hope that in this matter of schools We are
not going to act in such a way as to make
people think we have been praying this
prayer.